Second thoughts

There is an old belief that men cannot understand women.

I grew up in a home with a Mom and four sisters. I have a loving wife of 43 years, three daughters, seven granddaughters and two great granddaughters. I've spent time around women. I thought I understood women.

Because of their generally smaller size, women could not always compete physically, so they learned to compete, and win, intellectually.

Because of their natural tendency toward nurturing, they are more thoughtful, more contemplating.

I like women. In general. I think they make great teachers, leaders, decision makers.

Still I acknowledge there are a small percentage of bad women.

Some years ago, an acquaintance of mine, a mechanical type who worked in the construction trades, met two young women in a bar, and made his awkward attempt at romantic overtures. Before long the three ended up in a motel room.

There, while getting "better acquainted" the women openly admired an expensive diamond ring he was wearing, an item he was once awarded for an excellent performance. One asked to see it closely, and the poor sap obliged by taking the ring off his finger and handing it to her.

After she had examined it for some moments, he held out his hand for the return of his treasure. She coyly delayed its return. Then, her accomplice, from behind, violently struck him over the head with a heavy lamp. As he dazed, the two women fled.

When he regained his senses, he called the police, who responded to the motel. One of the officers, a well experienced old cop, studied the situation and offered that in such cases, the perpetrators sometimes have second thoughts... What if the dolt died? Possession of the ring could lead to their capture and conviction! Better ditch the evidence! The old officer suggested a search. Sure enough, the ring was found on the ground, under some shrubbery outside the motel room.

These were bad women.

I believe Texas State Senator Wendy Davis is also a bad woman, but of a different sort. She married young, gave birth to a daughter, then was divorced. Davis moved into her separated mother's mobile home. Wisely, she recognized the need to continue her education, and enrolled in a community college.

Along the way she met a well-to-do lawyer, 13 years her senior and married him. He provided financing for her and her daughter to live, and for her to continue her education. She gave birth to a second daughter, then decided she wanted to become a lawyer, herself.

Somehow, (possibly with his help) she was admitted to Harvard Law School. Her husband paid the bills and took responsibility for both daughters. Upon her graduation, he undertook to pay off her accrued student loan debts. The minute he made the final payment, she left him. In the ensuing divorce, he was awarded custody of both daughters.

It is very rare for a court to award custody of two daughters to the husband, especially when he is the father of only one of them. What was the evidence for that decision?

Then, there is the abortion angle. Davis has become the darling of the pro-choice crowd. A mother who seemingly took advantage of a good man, then seemingly was willing to abandon her two daughters? Now, she advocates taking the life of an innocent, unborn child? Wendy Davis is a bad woman, but she is but one tiny segment of the pro-choice movement.

Therein lies the crux of my original argument. We are told that women, in large pluralities, support the right to elective abortion. How can that square with my original idea of their natural tendency toward nurturing?

How can women, gifted with the ability to create a new living human being, be so willing to snuff out that new life? In spite of my life experiences, I guess the old belief is true... this man really does not understand women.